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TL-WA750RE
150Mbps Universal WiFi Range Extender User Guide
35
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) - WPA is a security technology for wireless networks that
improves on the authentication and encryption features of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). In
fact, WPA was developed by the networking industry in response to the shortcomings of WEP.
One of the key technologies behind WPA is the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). TKIP
addresses the encryption weaknesses of WEP. Another key component of WPA is built-in
authentication that WEP does not offer. With this feature, WPA provides roughly comparable
security to VPN tunneling with WEP, with the benefit of easier administration and use. This is
similar to 802.1x support and requires a RADIUS server in order to implement. The Wi-Fi
Alliance will call this, WPA-Enterprise. One variation of WPA is called WPA Pre Shared Key
or WPA-Personal for short - this provides an authentication alternative to an expensive
RADIUS server. WPA-Personal is a simplified but still powerful form of WPA most suitable for
home Wi-Fi networking. To use WPA-Personal, a person sets a static key or "passphrase" as
with WEP. But, using TKIP, WPA-Personal automatically changes the keys at a preset time
interval, making it much more difficult for hackers to find and exploit them. The Wi-Fi Alliance
will call this, WPA-Personal.